scholarly journals Quantifying Early Indicators of Global Climate Change

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 97-99
Author(s):  
Diane Debinski
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
The North ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Montane Meadows ◽  
Associated Species

One of the more significant voids remaining in our scientific understanding of global climate change is the relationship between climate change and the resulting changes expected in ecological communities. Because a large proportion of the North American landscape has been modified by human activities, it is difficult to assess whether ecological changes are being caused by human activities or climate change. Thus, we must look to landscapes where the modification has been less severe. One of the most pristine landscapes in North America where scientists can study natural processes is that of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Within this system some of the more sensitive habitats are the montane meadows. These habitats exist along a continuum from very dry (xeric) sagebrush meadows, to flowering (mesic) meadows, to wet (hydric) sedge meadows. Because of the relatively short growing season, species in these meadows can exhibit quick changes in distribution and abundance relative to climatic changes. My research uses satellite images and field surveys to evaluate how meadow habitats and their associated species respond to interannual changes in precipitation and soil moisture. I am examining the plant and butterfly communities to measure the response. Over 100 species of butterflies occur in this area and many are closely associated with specific types of meadows. This research is significant because it will provide an early warning system for assessing the effects of climate change. Documenting changes in montane meadows will assist in understanding how climate change may affect more highly managed areas of the globe.

Salinization: unplumbed salt in a parched landscape

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Salt Lakes ◽  
Inland Waters ◽  
Freshwater Lakes ◽  
Secondary Salinization ◽  
Rivers And Streams

The global hydrological and salt cycles are described, as are the ways in which human activities have led to their disturbance. One effect of this disturbance is the unnatural increase in the salinity of many inland waters (secondary salinization). The geographical extent of secondary salinization is outlined, together with its effects on various types of inland waters, such as salt lakes, freshwater lakes and wetlands, and rivers and streams. The likely impact on salinization of global climate change is summarized.

Will human impacts on Alpine geomorphic processes scale up to the depositional record?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Lane
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Human Response ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Geomorphic Processes

<p>The Anthropocene is widely described as producing a rupture in the global stratigraphic signature, attributable to human activities. There is no doubt that human activities have introduced new products into the stratigraphic record; and that humans are modifying the geomorphic processes that produce the sediment which then becomes incorporated into that record. The stratigraphic literature is replete with simplistic generalisations of how sediment flux to the continental shelf is changing, such as increasing due to soil erosion or decreasing due to hydropower related sediment flux disconnection. Here we argue that human impacts on geomorphic processes in the Anthropocene are unlikely to be stationary for long enough for them to be seen consistently across the depositional record of many different environments. Illustrating this for a major inner-Alpine drainage basin, the Swiss Rhône, we show that human-driven global climate-change is indeed dramatically altering the geomorphic process regimes of Alpine environments. However, there are three broad reasons why this is unlikely to be seen in the future geological record. First, the geomorphic response that drives increased sediment delivery is transient because of the significant regime changes associated with global climate change impacts. Second, such increases are countered by other human impacts, notably those on sediment flux, which are tending to reduce the connectivity of sediment sources to downstream sediment sinks. Third, human impacts on both sediment sources and connectivity are nonstationary, driven by both exogenous factors (here illustrated by the worldwide economic shock of 2008) and endogenous ones, notably human response to the perceived problems caused by both sediment starvation and sediment over-supply. In geomorphic terms, then, there is a difference between the pervasive nature of Earth system shifts that we see in the pre-Holocene depositional record and the more ephemeral impacts of the Earth system – human coupling associated with the Anthropocene. The extent to which this is the case is likely to vary geographically and temporally as a function of the degree and nature of human impacts on geomorphic processes. Thus, the primary challenge for future prediction will be as much the prediction of the complex and reflexive nature of human response as it will be geomorphic processes themselves.</p>

Regional Governance of Global Climate Change: The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele M. Betsill
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
North American ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Environmental Cooperation ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
The North

Over the past decade the governance of global climate change has evolved into a complex, multi-level process involving actors and initiatives at multiple levels of social organization from the global to the local in both the public and private spheres. This article analyzes the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) as one component of this multilevel governance system. Specifically, it evaluates the CEC as a site of regional climate governance based on three potential advantages of governance through regional organizations: a small number of actors, opportunities for issue linkage, and linkage between national and global governance systems. On each count I find that the benefits of a CEC-based climate governance system are limited and argue for greater consideration of how such a system would interact with other forms of climate governance in North America.

scholarly journals La planeación territorial en municipios costeros y su importancia para la adaptación al cambio climático global

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-40
Author(s):  
F.A. Rosete Vergés ◽  
Gustavo Martín Morales ◽  
M.F. Onofre Villalva
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Coastal Lagoons ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Concrete Action ◽  
Productive Systems ◽  
The Impact

The present work raises the importance of land use planning for the global climate change adaptation in coastal municipalities, in particular against the effects caused by natural hazards associated with climate change. The first part presents the current situation of the main land use planning instruments in the coastal municipalities of Mexico, in the second part the current environmental situation in said municipalities is presented, identifying the degree of their transformation, the alteration of the ecosystems in the context of watersheds, the impact on the drainage network and mangrove losses. Under these circumstances, and taking into account that the future climate scenarios indicate an increase in the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones, most of the coastal municipalities are in a situation of very high to medium vulnerability. The third part of the text presents the concrete action that coastal municipalities can take to be more resilient in the face of the challenges posed by global climate change. These actions can be grouped into four major thematic groups: Implementation of an early warning system based on a municipal information system, conserving the first defense barrier (dunes, mangroves and coastal lagoons) against cyclones and storm tides, decrease the vulnerability of infrastructure, productive systems and population, and restoration and conservation of ecosystems with a productive approach to lessen the impact of extreme events.

Global climate change and its impact on disease embedded in ecological communities

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe A. Rossignol ◽  
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta ◽  
Annette M. Rossignol
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ecological Communities

Environmental and Endocrine Control of Reproduction in Two Species of Polychaete: Potential Bio-Indicators for Global Climate Change

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 247-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Control Mechanism ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Endocrine Control ◽  
The Impact

An in vitro bioassay has been developed which shows that oogenesis in Harmothoe imbricata is controlled by a gonadotrophic hormone which promotes egg protein synthesis in developing oocytes. A similar endocrine control mechanism is found in Eulalia viridis and analysis of in vivo assays indicate that the hormone acts as a transducer between the environment and the gamete. The timing of gametogenesis is controlled by environmental cues in both species and may be affected by predicted global climate change. With the development of these sensitive hormone assays it is possible to test the impact of climate change on both species, providing a possible early warning system for global warming and potential bio-indicators of climate change. Harmothoe imbricata is likely to be the more sensitive indicator species.

Global Climate Change Opportunity as Well as Challenge to Architecture

2011 ◽  
Vol 243-249 ◽  
pp. 5289-5292
Author(s):  
Jun Hua Yu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Save Energy ◽  
Emission Of Greenhouse Gases

As known to all, the emission of greenhouse gases is mainly caused by human activities. If we could cut down the emission, we could gradually prevent the influence of climate change. Relevant research shows that in the field of energy consumption, the control of CO2 emission is the most effective way to save energy. Thus, reducing the architectural energy consumption is one of the most crucial factors to realize global climate goals. Although more and more scholars prefer to use the word ‘dilemma’ to describe the urgent contradiction between architectural construction and environment, and energy as well, I still want to discuss the influence of global warming on the architecture industry, and explain why it is an opportunity as well.

Global Climate Change and International Countermeasures

2012 ◽  
Vol 616-618 ◽  
pp. 1490-1495
Author(s):  
Juan Juan Hu ◽  
Yu Long He ◽  
Li Li Li
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
International Negotiations ◽  
International Experiences ◽  
Change Characteristics

Climate change is a world-wide problem. The paper analyzed the global climate change characteristics, and put forward that the most important reason in recent years is human activities through many analysis. Then introduced the international negotiations of climate change and summarizes the international experiences that china can learn from.

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